The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / A Public Health Approach to Arthritis

A Public Health Approach to Arthritis

March 12, 2020 • By Thomas R. Collins

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Igdeeva Alena / shutterstock.com

Igdeeva Alena / shutterstock.com

ATLANTA—Rheumatic diseases have been the subject of a range of public health campaigns and reports over the past decade, but improving their visibility remains a work in progress, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expert said at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. A growing attention to pain and the opioid crisis may help in this regard, he said.

You Might Also Like
  • A Public Health Approach to Arthritis: Experts Continue to Raise Awareness of Arthritis Burden
  • U.S. Public Health Funding on the Decline
  • Straightforward Approach Can Help Rheumatology Health Professionals Engage with Fibromyalgia Patients
Explore This Issue
March 2020
Also By This Author
  • The Rheumatology Podcast Informs, Entertains

Charles (Chad) Helmick, MD, a medical epidemiologist and the scientific lead for the CDC’s arthritis program, said the organization, in collaboration with many other groups and universities, is continuing in its push.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“The overriding issue in my mind is the need for greater visibility for arthritis and other rheumatic conditions as important health problems,” he said.

When Dr. Helmick created the CDC’s arthritis program in 1999, he was cautioned about the challenge that lay ahead of him, mainly because rheumatic conditions are not among the major, deadly diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, that occupy so much space in the public consciousness.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“‘This is not a fatal disease—you’re sort of leading the way for a lot of other chronic, non-fatal disabling diseases,’” he recalled being told. “And it’s tough. We’ve worked on it, and I think we’ve done a lot of successful things over that time.”

Burden of Rheumatic Conditions

The burden of rheumatic conditions continues to be great in the U.S. According to CDC reports covering 2013–15, 54 million adults, or 22.7% of the adult population, had arthritis, and 22.7 million adults, or 43.5%, had limitations to activity they attributed to arthritis.1 By 2040, the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey predicts 78 million adults will have arthritis, and that is almost certainly an underestimate because it counts only the change based on the population structure by age, Dr. Helmick said.

“It does not take into account the obesity epidemic, which I think will make this number even higher,” he cautioned.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

In 2013, the cost attributed to arthritis was $304 billion–140 billion in medical costs and $164 billion in lost earnings. That’s equal to $2,117 in medical costs per adult with arthritis, and $4,040 less in pay for an adult with arthritis vs. an adult without arthritis.2

In an assessment of adults with arthritis across the states, a median of 30.3% had severe joint pain, with Colorado having the lowest percentage at 20.8% and Mississippi the highest at 45.2%.3

A Major Cause of Disability

Research has found the main causes of disability among adults in the U.S. are arthritis or rheumatism, just ahead of back or spine problems.4 “They were way ahead of some of the other big things, like heart disease and diabetes and mental health problems,” Dr. Helmick said.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Analgesics, Conditions Tagged With: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid crisis, Pain Management, public healthIssue: March 2020

You Might Also Like:
  • A Public Health Approach to Arthritis: Experts Continue to Raise Awareness of Arthritis Burden
  • U.S. Public Health Funding on the Decline
  • Straightforward Approach Can Help Rheumatology Health Professionals Engage with Fibromyalgia Patients
  • Trump Declares Opioids a U.S. Public Health Emergency

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.